Electric storage-battery construction



' H. G. WAGNER ELECTRIC STORAGE B ATTERY CONSTRUCTION Slept. 1e, 1924'. A 1,508,427

` fuyo @QT/Veneer -/o r M) -BY f" o Hfs ATTGRJVEY H. G.`WAGNER ELETRIC STORAGE BATTERY CONSTRUCTION nu nu 2'7 1921 3 Sheets-Shout 2 zer VENTO-E Hu o E. /Vay Sept. 16. 1924. 1. H. G. WAGNER znzc'rnxc STORAGE BATTERY oNsTRupTIoN F1106 Dgc. 27. 1921 3 Shasta-Shut 5 WTNEAS'ASES.'

@ x f y@ @Mza/24,7610 By l L Hfs ATTQRMEY Patented sept. 16,1924.

mreoe. wAGNm, or roma: :PLEASANT amen, nsw

mnc'rnrc STORAGE-BATTERY consrnncrron.

Application led December 27, 1921. Serial No. 524,891.

To all wlzlom it may concern;

'13e it known that I, HUGO G. WAGNER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Polnt Pleasant Beach, in the county of Ocean and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric Stor e-Battery Constructions, of which the ollowing is a specification.

It is well known that in electric storage batteries which employ lead plates orgrids co-active in boxes or receptacles containing dilute sulphuric acid, the structure is heavy,

bulky and diflicult to handle. Moreover the liquid or solutionof dilute' sulphuric acid is apt to splash out of its allotted space and v.for this reason the structure must be handled with care. Further than this, the construction and replacement is ex ensive consider- 1ng)the length of the-life o the structure. I

ne ob]ect` of my present invention is to provide an improved light. wei ht construction for a storage battery w ich will do away with the necessity of having numerous heavy lead plates or grids.

Another object is lto so construct my improved structure that the negative and ositive elements will consist of porous bloc s of material which will absorb a great quantity of the sulphuric acid and will therefore prevent the splashing and wasting of the sulphuric acid. i

Furtherobjects of my invention are to increase the length of life of electric storage batteries, to increase their eiectiveness and to render them more compact and condensed These objects, and other advantageous ends which will be described hereinafter, I attain in the following manner, reference beiln ,had to the accompanying drawings in w 1c l \Figure 1 is a top planview of an electric storage battery illustrating my invention; the same illustrating one cell of the battery including positive and negative elements or blocks made in accordance with my present invention, 1

Figure 2 is a fragmentary; front elevation of said battery,

Figure 3 is a section taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 1,

Figure 4 is a section taken on the line 4 4 of Figure 1, l

Figures 5 and 6v are perspective Views of 4my improved positive and ne ative elements or blocks removed from the atteryv box,

Figures?, 8 and 9 are diagrammatic yiews illustrating in enlarged fragmentary sectionl the'character of the substances of the positive elementsor block, and

Figures 10, 11 and 12 are diagrammatic 60 views illustrating in enlar 'edfragmentary section the character of -t e substances `of the negative element or block.

Referring to the drawings, 13 represents a battery box which inclu e"s chambers 14. l have only'illustrated two of these chalbers. However, it will be imderstood that any number of chambers may be provided according to the size and strength of battery desired. I have illustrated in one of these 70 chambers two approximately "rectangular bloclrs 15 and 16 which rest on ribs 17 projecting up from the bottom'of the box; sald ribs being spaced apart to provide passages for sulphuric acid which is ,placed in the chamber in which the blocks 15 andy 16 are positioned. These blocks with the exception of a comparatively narrow space 18 between them approximately lill the, chamber; the block 15 constituting the positive element 86 of the battery and the block 16 constituting the negative element of the battery.

These blocks 15 and 16 are made of por- A i Vous light weight material such for'example as claimed in my co-pending application for United States Patent, Serial No. 524,890. The box. 13 is made of acid resistant elecl trically non-conductive materialv and the rblocks 15 and 16 are separated' by spacing 'i members 19 and if desiredl these members 90 p 19, which are of electrically non-conductive material, can be secured to one of the blocks .such for example 'as to the block 15 as shown in Figure 5. The blocks 15 and 16 are made porous throughout their mass so `that when the sulphuric acid is placed within the 4 chamber in which the blocks are located, the

blocks will absorb a greatquant'ity ofthe sulphuric acid and said acid will be held by said blocks and the action of the sulphuric acid relatively to certain of the ingredients of the blocks will eii'ect the accumulation and the conduction of electricity. .lhe character of the substance contained in the blocks 15 and 16 is practicallyl the same in each instance with the exception that while both of the blocks contain accumulator oxide, the accumulator oxide in one of the blocks is of a diderent .re-active character than the accumulator oxide in the other of the blocks.

ln preparing the materialfor the positive block 15, l iirst take a coarse wood such for example as a mass of saw dust and soak said mass of saw dust in a solution of ammonium sulphate until the articles of wood are thoroughly soaked wit said ammonium sulphate and swelled to a size greater than their original size. lallow this action to take place until the wood will absorb' no more of the ammonium sulphate and said wood is then placed on a suitable drain so as to allow the draining olf of all excess ammonium sulphate. 'lhis wood after being drained and still holding its swelled andl en a reed shape is then rolled or mixed with an accumulator oxide known in the art as the active material and for the production of the material used in producing a positive element, this active material can consist of lead per oxide in powder form'. 'lihis action is continued until the surface of each individual unit of wood is completely covered with said active material. The sat-urated wood thus coated is then rolled or mixed with a carbon until every unit containing the wood and oxide is completely covered with the carbon at which time these units are'rolled in a calcined calcium sulphate. The entire mass thus obtained is molded in the shape of the block l5; the hardening and setting of the entire mass depending on the quantity of calcined calcium sulphate and ammonium sulphate used.

'lhe chemical action of the calcined calcium and the ammonium sulphate causes the entire mass to set and harden holding the wood in its swelled state. 'lhe block thus formed is then placed in a dry room at a temperature of approximately 256 lh". until all the moisture is expelled. 'lhe block at this state is very porous; the voids being caused by the moisture taken out of the wood reducing it to its first dry or normal state. After this drying action the block of material is then placed in a suitable container having therein sulphuric acid preferably of a specific gravity of 1.2 until all the wood is destroyed; thus making the block ready for use as the positive element in the chamber 11i of the battery box 13.

amener,

The aonium sulphate solution which ll use preferably has a specihc gravity of 1.142.

'lhe above steps of the process of mahinfr the material of the block 15 are illustrated in Figures? to 9 inclusive; Figureshowing on an enlarged scale a particle of wood 2li having been treated by the ammonium sulphate solution. so' as to swell the same; said particle of wood being covered by acoating of accumulator oxide such for example as powdered lead per oxide 21; this coating being covered by-carbon 22; there being an outer covering of calcium sulphate 2 3; thus completing a unit of the mass. lligure 8 illustrates the same after the drying or baking stepof the process in which the particle of wood has been reduced in sine to provide a voidv 2d and Figure 9 illustrates the structure after having'been treated with vparticle of wooden an enlarged scale having been treated'with iaoniuin sulphate solution, then covered with the active material 21E which is preferably made of the powdered metallic lead above not/ed, then this coated structure is covered with coating of carbon 22a and'nally covered with a coating of calcium sulphate 23B.' Figure 11 illustrates the same after having been dried to reduce the size of the wood particle 2li-'l and to create a void .25 and Figure l2 illustrates the structureafter the wood has been destroyed by sulphuric acid to enlarge the size of the void 25.

Each of the blocks 15 and l@ is provided with a recess 26 which, when the bloclrs are placed adjacent each other within the chamber 1l, provide a cavity for the insertion of a testing instrument and also for allowing the water and acid to be inserted conveniently and l preferably provide grooves 2? in the outer surfaces of the -bloclis in order to increase the surface area and facilitate the absorption of the sulphuric acid by the blocks. A

While l have described my invention as taking a particular form, it will be understood that the various parts of my invention may be changed without departing from the spirit thereof, and hence l do not limit myself to the precise construction set forth, but consider that l am at liberty to malte such changes and alterations as fairly come within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what www:

claim as new and desr to sccm'c by Latters Piment is:-

1. In uuelectric storage battery, positive and negative elements cnnsisting c porous.

i blocks composed cmmonum 4sui hate, carbon, am accumulator oxide;l und ca @ined calcium sulphate.

'calcium sulphate, the blocks being honey;

ccmbc4 with voids of larger dimensions than hc. porcs.

In testimony whereof have signed my 15 nume $359 this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses. f y

HUGO G. WAGNER.

Witucsscsr WILLIAM J. DOONER, ELIZABETH GAME. 

